Hey I'm doing something bicycle-related next week I'm providing moto-support for a charity bicycle ride from Montreal, Canada to Portland, Maine. Camping along the way. It's my first time doing one of these and I'm pretty darn excited.

Fortunately, my prostate isn't enlarged, but when I'm on the bike I wonder sometimes.

I think in order for me to be comfortable on a bicycle, I'll have to swap out the seat for one of these

and install some barbacks so I don't have to lean forward at all.

Or maybe a nice recumbent with the big-ass lawn chair type seat.

When I had a Mustang seat on my Vulcan it relieved most of the problem, but it seems most factory seats are crowned. After a couple of hours it starts feeling like I'm sitting on a fence rail.

Getting the ergos right on a bike is tough sometimes--a millimeter here and there on the bars, stem, seat height, and on and on--can make a big difference on how the assparts feel. (and the other nearby areas...) And that's before we even get to the mojo of the seat itself. Shorter top tubes, etc, may help with weight distribution.

Bicyclists can talk in great, lurid detail about monkeybutt and other discomforts for days.

I know this sounds nuts, but comfort seats come in men's and women's flavors but that doesn't mean you can't experiment. Don't feel weird about trying a woman's seat, no matter kind of explaining they have on the literature that says they're designed for different gender's partses. If you've got some friends that ride, just ask for donations of spare seats to try out. Anything that gets you comfortable is fair game.

__________________
Only an XR1200 owner knows why Cthulhu hangs its head out a car window.

Hey PhilSpace--you ever heard of the C&O Towpath? Might be an easy ride. We were going to do a chunk of it a few years ago. Google for more.

Very pretty, have ridden the big bikes all through that area as well. We also have the W&OD Trail and the Mount Vernon trail. Took the family on that once in the summer, it can get pretty hot in the swampy area along the Potomac

If you ever decide to do it, we can set you up with base of operations not far from the FEBA (Army talk for Forward Edge of the Battle Area, renamed by me and my buddies to False Enthusiasm, Bad Attitude)

Ergos have been the biggest problem with getting Beck going. She really wanted a beach cruiser, but I knew she would never keep up on it. I'm still working on her to let me raise the seat a little higher, I just don't think her leg is quiet fully extending.

And man, I thought I had a prostate problem after two miles with the seat at the stock angle

Well darnit, now ya'll have got me thinking about a bike. I came close to buying an Electra Townie a couple of years ago, but didn't, and now I'm considering it again. That style of bike seemed just right for someone like me with bad knees, big azz, and carpal tunnel issues. Took one for a test ride, and it actually seemed fun and non-painful. I might actually RIDE a bike like this, unlike the last MTB I owned.

This post is for all of us who love bicycling but really hate getting their ass moving.

About the time you were posting this, I was getting on my bike. I've been commuting on it about 4 days a week, a distance of 11 miles each way. This morning I made myself get up and get moving early so that I could take a longer 23 mile route to work that goes out into a semi-rural area west of town, then loops back in to the office.

This route starts off with something like 12 moderately hilly miles. The first climb I hit is the reason I didn't bike to my old job -- I'd've had to do that climb every morning, and the couple of times I tried it back then, it was just soul-killing. Now it seems pretty easy. Other hills later on the long route are much worse, but none are quite "soul-killing".

This sunday, weather permitting, I'm going to try to do my first century; I did 85 miles the sunday before last, and 52 the sunday before that. When I started biking to work a couple of months ago, I didn't expect it to come to this. I didn't consider myself an avid cyclist, and worried that the commute would quickly start to feel like a chore, as most of my workout regimens do. Instead, bicycling has supplanted motorcycling as my primary 2-wheel obsession.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photog

I think tomorrow I'm gonna kick the mtb to the curb and get on the road bike. Enough of this cushy stuff...I want forward motion.

Congrats for getting back in the saddle. Keep at it, and I bet the cardio capacity will come back quick. Especially once you get back on the road bike -- I have a much easier time getting motivated to ride now that I've got a decent road bike that is happy to reward my effort with speed.